There is an article in Zvi S Rosen that I thought you might like to read:
Zvi S. Rosen (2006) The Twilight of the Opera Pirates: A Prehistory of the Exclusive Right of Public Performance for Musical Compositions,
http://works.bepress.com/zvi_rosen/1.
I hope you enjoy this article, which may be viewed without charge.
Interesting project: the bepress “Selected Works”.